The Craftmanship of Haute Couture ... The details and how they do it.

[Ghost]

Actually i think that Signe Chanel is trying to reveal the real inside of a couture atelier to tell that it's not that professional or glamourous inside a couture atelier as we visualize

 

[gius]

i don't know what you mean, Ghost, but i think it's pretty clear in the videos it is professional and demanding and very hard work... and of course -work- is not glamourous! haha
i know what it is like to embroider and to bead endlessly for hours The kind of laughter that takes place in the atelier, it is soo necessary XD

 

[gius]

Ok.. next day has rolled in I think I understand you now, Ghost
You mean to say the show's more about the extravagance than the technical side

I found a program description here from bbcprograms.com

SECRET WORLD OF HAUTE COUTURE

PHOTOGRAPHY
ONE SHEET
PROGRAM INFORMATION


PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This film uncovers the anachronistic and surprising fairytale world of haute couture through its players past and present, featuring rare archive from the BBC vaults.

Margy Kinmonth takes a journey from Paris to New York and California to meet both designers and customers in this much talked about but little explained pocket of the fashion industry. Haute couture’s traditional American customers are getting old and dying off now and fewer wealthy young women are taking their place to ensure its survival. She discovers how much has changed and surprisingly how much has stayed the same in this story of decadent decline.
Since its heyday after WW 2 the number of fashion houses showing haute couture in Paris has fallen from over a hundred to barely a dozen today. Margy Kinmonth goes behind the scenes at the haute couture giant Chanel as it prepares for the January shows in which its spring/summer collection is launched. We are given a rare interview and glimpse of the famous Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel at work drawing in his studio. We follow the making and complicated construction of one dress to fully understand what “hand made in Paris” really means. Margy interviews John Galliano,Dior’s designer, veteran Italian designer Valentino and French favourite Christian Lacroix. We are treated to vintage archive of early haute couture shows.

The film follows key haute couture customers as they visit Paris to see the shows and shop for dresses that can cost up to 100,000 dollars each. Kinmonth asks who are these women and why are they prepared to spend so much money on one dress? There are strict unwritten rules for belonging to this exclusive shopping club.What are they? Why is it all so hush hush?
We visit keen haute couture aficionado Betsy Bloomingdale in Los Angeles and see her large collection of haute couture. We meet one of the oldest multi- millionaire collectors in New York City - Carol Petrie whose wedding dress was made by Christian Dior himself in the late 1940’s. We see U. S designer Ralph Rucci’s collection in New York. He is one of the few foreigners allowed to show haute couture in Paris.

Texan oil and gas tycoon’s wife Becca Cason Thrash, Susan Gutfreund – wife of the 80’s bond dealer John Gutfreund and Daphne Guinness, a Brit with a passion for haute couture are all interviewed. They mingle on the front rows of the catwalk shows alongside celebrities such as Victoria Beckham. Insider Baroness Helene de Ludinghausen, who was for 31 years the directrice of Yves Saint Laurent, spills the beans about the subject no one ever mentions – how much this frocks cost.

Is haute couture now an art form? The customers all think so.


PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Producer/Director: Margy Kinmoth
Executive Producer: Tracy Jeune

DURATION
1x60'

 

[Ghost]

what i'm trying to say that i used to think that a couture atelier is full of strict and dead energy. everyone is trying to act high-class u know something like a scene from devil wears prada.
but it looks cheerful in the end despite the hard work

 

[Ghost]

women.sohu.com

 

[reese06]

For some reason I just love the look of the gold mannequins. cool pictures.

 

[dior_couture1245]

What collection are these pictures in post #173 from?

 

[Dkammern]

i jsut got one of those subscription emails from dior website.there's some videos on the process of haute couture collections, and a video where john talks about some of his favorite pieces.

www.dior.com

 

[eternitygoddess]

One question that's been floating in my mind is if the designer themselves are able to cut and drape garments.

On Project Runway, the designers are all required to construct their garments by themselves. Most up-and-coming designers I read about all work hands-on with their outfits.

Is it that once a designer has been achieved a certain status and recognition, their activities become predominantly sketching out ideas and leaving the physical aspect to their ateliers? Can Lagerfeld, Gaultier, Galliano, Lacroix cut and drape couture garments if the situation calls for it?

 

[gius]

I think when you become the boss, you get a lot of important responsibilities --He needs to have time to develop the vision for the new show (the set, presentation, styling etc) and new impression for the whole collection. The petits mains/ateliers are hired as a time-saver and also bring in their own expertise/outlook. In the documentary Signe Chanel Karl is always there at the fittings and seeing the mock-ups, to get on with the next step

 

[gius]

One question that's been floating in my mind is if the designer themselves are able to cut and drape garments.

BTW, Not sure if Karl knows cutting and draping intensively
I know they hired a head lady (from Chloe) because of her expertise in men's tailoring and dress-making; so she would be able to mix styles together. I think the lab women were saying Karl doesn't know how some of his drawings can even be made into real clothes. It was up to them to interpret the drawing

Galliano would definitely know. He studied at Central Saint Martin's :-)

 

[javs52]

very nice topic
i am an embroider in india and we actually do a lot of embroideries for various designers in Italy & paris
here is a link of the embroidery work we do..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omu0296CLYs

so you would probably understand what goes in doing the embroidery. if any1 have any questions, I would be happy to answer !

 

[javs52]

^caught me there, i read on another thread he makes his embroideries there, he had visited India in search for couture inspirations (summer 2000 for example, one of my favourite Gaultier Paris shows) so i guess he meet embroiderers there, who knows, let us hope he plays it fair, i have to admit that when i read that i felt a little dissapointed about him.

sorry to disappoint you further, the truth is majority of fashion houses get their embroideries done in India.......there are a no. of reasons for it.

1. embroidery in italy or france is no longer feasible. there is scarcity of skilled labour in italy, france...the people who used to embroider some 50-70 yrs ago...their children are not following the same thing now.
2. the labour in india or elsewhere is cheap + the skill and quality of work is pretty good infact various techniques of beading and hand embroidery are only possible by indian labours.
3. the world is getting smaller due to advancement in technology and its now possible to co-ordinate with factories in india much nicely and have faster turnarounds even special customer requests...embroidery can be done within one week!
4. materials : the largest source of materials are available in india from all parts of the world for all types of beading.

 

[gius]

hey that is so awesome very glad to see it, javs ! Thank you
Are the beads stitched onto the fabric? Where is the thread? I only see the one long needle

And there is a fabric with black spots on it
Do you draw the design on the fabric with washable ink?

 

[dior_couture1245]

^^I'm pretty sure they are using a tambour hook to do the embroidery
http://books.google.com/books?id=OW...WqwOUB&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result

(In "Signe Chanel" you can see they use the same technique to embroider the bride's dress at Lesage...I'm sure the technique is pretty standard)

 

[gius]

Thanks ^^ I didn't know there was a different tool
I had always used a regular needle, not hook...
So I see the technique is different too... It's almost a similar way of making rugs. A thread underneath the fabric...

 

[Spike413]

One question that's been floating in my mind is if the designer themselves are able to cut and drape garments.

On Project Runway, the designers are all required to construct their garments by themselves. Most up-and-coming designers I read about all work hands-on with their outfits.

Is it that once a designer has been achieved a certain status and recognition, their activities become predominantly sketching out ideas and leaving the physical aspect to their ateliers? Can Lagerfeld, Gaultier, Galliano, Lacroix cut and drape couture garments if the situation calls for it?

I can't be 1000% sure, but I would feel almost positive saying that all of those designers you mentioned can cut, drape and sew if necessary especially given that Galliano went through fashion school and being so broke that he had to make his own garments, and Lagerfeld and Gaultier both trained with couturiers before going out on their own. I think Lacroix might have as well.

Any design director, especially one of that level, would be expected to have a practical knowledge of all those things because they would need to be able to tell the pattern makers, sewers, drapers etc. exactly what they want and how they want the garment made. That's really what fashion school is all about because one you're working as a designer for a company that can afford to employ sewers, pattern makers, cutters and tailors, the designer really won't be doing any of the manual work, they'll just be overseeing and directing it. At least that's how it works with ready to wear, so I'd assume that it's the same where couture is involved.

And dior_couture, those pictures on the last page are from the S/S 01 collection.

Here are the pieces...

style.com I couldn't find a picture of the jacket, but it was part of the very first look on the runway.

 

[gius]

Great hearing about the stitches ^
So they're doing a 'double' stitch to make it stronger..
Machine straight stitch is also a double ...

on Hermes.com they show how they make their gloves Lots of stretching leather

 

[javs52]

Thanks ^^ I didn't know there was a different tool
I had always used a regular needle, not hook...
So I see the technique is different too... It's almost a similar way of making rugs. A thread underneath the fabric...

the needle is underneath the fabric, they use the other hand to put the thread onto the hook.....this is what we call the AARI technique the one with the long hook.

the one with the regular needle is what is called the ZARDOSI technique and exactly what you are referring to.

if you notice clearly, in the aari technique you can pick more than 1 bead a time whereas in the zardosi technique you can just pickup one bead or one sequin at a time and thus it takes more time and also it is expensive compared to the other.

 

[gius]

thanks for the info^ I will try to research more

-

Hand sewing vs Machine

--Yesterday I went off to visit a studio where they do haute couture
The lady there (my instructor) told me this exactly: "What we do is not even couture, it is really haute couture"
and she's not a liar or exaggerator of any kind
An old wise lady...
So it got me thinking..

There were 2 persons there working on their own projects
hand-sewing,etc
but they also use machines.
It's that they baste everything by hand, do all the preparations/mock-ups etc by hand.. and then when you sew it with machine, it's much easier and goes smoothly..
It's the same as when you pin a seam and then sew..
The basting stitches hold everything in place better

So I was thinking, something called haute couture doesn't necessarily have to be 100% hand sewn
rather the idea it is made for one person, and for one time.. "the pattern is thrown away after" my teacher told me.
In fact I read this is the way it is also in men's tailoring. Preparations by hand, and seams in particular machine-sewn.. for durabilty especially

I mean of course if there is a special thing to be sewn which will not fit in the machine (such as something that can't lay flat), it will be sewn by hand as well